Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Protected area / relocation · Brazil · 2002–2026

Amazon Region Protected Areas programme (ARPA) and the ARPA for Life Transition Fund, Brazil

Nature's voice · report
Stated as "$215 million"; the currency is not named in the sources (Positive News adds £125m); over 25 years or two decades 215 million US dollars were pledged in my name. The benefit that was measured: Additional deforestation reduction, strictly protected units, 9%.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Accounts differ ↓
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 insufficient · 2 not measured · 4 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Whether ARPA support reduces deforestation
  • Researchers Soares-Filho et al. (2023): ARPA support accounts for additional deforestation reductions of 9% in strictly protected units and 39% in sustainable-use units; leakage was not assessed. Biological Conservation (Elsevier)
  • International bodies KfW evaluation (2017): Designation of protected areas significantly reduces deforestation within the protected areas; effective protection is at risk from budget restrictions. KfW Development Bank, Evaluation
  • Communities and civil society Funbio: A park manager says Chandless State Park would not exist without ARPA; the claim is a testimonial on the programme's own page. Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)

ARPA, launched in 2002 and coordinated by Brazil's Environment Ministry with the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (Funbio) as financial manager, supports protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon; its Transition Fund, begun in 2014 with a stated commitment of "$215 million", is meant to move the areas to full public funding within 25 years. A 2023 peer-reviewed study found deforestation 9% lower in strictly protected and 39% lower in sustainable-use units with ARPA support than in units without it in 2008–2020; three of its seven authors are affiliated with WWF-Brazil or Funbio, and Funbio helped fund the study.

$215 millionTransition Fund commitment announced for ARPA, May 2014
As stated by WWF (22 May 2014) and Positive News (18 July 2014, which adds £125m); neither source names the currency of the dollar figure. Described as covering 25 years in one passage and "the next two decades" in another.

Status As of November 2025: ARPA is ongoing with a reported additional US$120 million over 15 years; the latest impact study (2023) covers 2008–2020; no independent evaluation of the Transition Fund itself was found.

What?
A programme that funds management of protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon, with a Transition Fund meant to move their funding to the public budget within 25 years. Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
Where?
Protected areas in seven states of the Brazilian Amazon. International Climate Initiative (IKI)
When?
Support since 2002; phase I 2003–2009; phase II 2010–2017; Transition Fund 2014; additional commitment reported November 2025. Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
Who?
Gained
  • Supported conservation units and the agencies that manage them — 120 units covering 62.5 million hectares per Funbio's statistics panel; the 2025 commitment contracts agencies with Funbio Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
  • Funbio — Financial manager and executor; executive secretary of the Transition Fund; fee levels are not stated in the sources Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
  • Residents of sustainable-use units — 130,000 people and 130 community groups in the 60 units supported by the 2025 commitment (press report) ((o))eco
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Funbio states the aim of conserving and sustainably using 60 million hectares, about 15% of the Brazilian Amazon, by 2039; the Transition Fund is meant to secure long-term funding until public funding takes over. Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
How?
Donor funds are managed by Funbio and paid to protected-area managers; the Transition Fund is project finance in which all funds are committed up front and payments decline over time. Positive News
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The Amazon Region Protected Areas programme (ARPA) was launched by the Brazilian government and is coordinated by the Ministry of Environment; the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (Funbio) has been its financial manager and executor "since day-one", according to Funbio. Funbio lists as donors the Brazilian government, the German government through KfW, the Global Environment Facility (through the World Bank), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and WWF. ((o))eco reported in November 2025 that ARPA was created in September 2002 at Rio+10 in Johannesburg. Funbio and a 2023 peer-reviewed study describe phase I (2003–2009), in which 23 million hectares of protected areas were created, and phase II (2010–2017), which supported the consolidation of 95 areas covering 52.2 million hectares; the study adds that since the launch of "Arpa para Vida" (ARPA for Life) at Rio+20 the programme has been based on an approach called Project Finance for Permanence, and WWF dates that launch to 2012. Funbio states that the programme surpassed its initial target of 60 million hectares, about 15% of the Brazilian Amazon, with 60.8 million hectares across 117 areas in 2017, while its statistics panel lists 120 areas and 62.5 million hectares; the page does not explain the difference.

The Transition Fund was announced in 2014. WWF's release of 22 May 2014 described a funding commitment of "$215 million" by the Brazilian government, WWF and partners, "guaranteed" over two decades in one paragraph and over 25 years in another, after which the Brazilian government would cover the full cost; its president called it a "first-of-its-kind bridge fund". Positive News reported on 18 July 2014 that the money was committed through "project finance" so that all funds were committed at once, that payments decrease over the years, that future funds depend on Brazil meeting conditions and that by 2040 full funding responsibility returns to Brazil. Funbio says the fund, with Funbio as executive secretary, was designed to gradually phase in long-term public financing "ensuring 100% public funding of its PAs within a period of 25 years". KfW's 2017 evaluation wrote that the donor fund's contribution "will gradually decrease over time until 2039, while financing from the Brazilian state is set to be increased in the same amount." A reported new commitment in November 2025 was an additional US$120 million, about R$ 640 million, over 15 years for 60 sustainable-use units covering 23.6 million hectares, implemented through contracts between agencies and Funbio.

Evaluations of ARPA are limited to the programme's phases and to one impact study. KfW's evaluation department rated the International Climate Initiative (IKI) contribution to phase I, EUR 3.63 million in 2008–2010 for 28 protected areas, with an overall grade of 2; it wrote that "The designation of protected areas significantly reduces the rate of deforestation in the areas which have been protected" and put the total investment in phase I at USD 113 million. It warned that protection of Brazilian protected areas was at risk from budget restrictions on the federal protected-area and environment agencies. Soares-Filho and colleagues (Biological Conservation, 2023) compared 120 conservation units covering 62 million hectares over 2008–2020 and found that ARPA support accounted for additional deforestation reductions of 9% in strictly protected units and 39% in sustainable-use units relative to non-supported units; protected areas including Indigenous lands reduced Amazon deforestation by 21% (2.0 ± 0.3 million hectares), of which ARPA units accounted for 264 ± 25 thousand hectares, equivalent to 104 ± 10 million tonnes of CO2. The authors report BRL 409 million executed by the programme until the end of 2020 (personal communication), and that leakage was not assessed. The study was supported by Funbio, the Climate and Land Use Alliance and CNPq, and three of its seven authors are affiliated with WWF-Brazil or Funbio.

The Amazon Fund's evaluations page lists an ARPA Phase 2 evaluation by Funbio and WWF-Brazil covering 2005–2015, for which Amazon Fund support ran 2010–2014; the page does not give its findings or date. The IKI project page records the same EUR 3,630,072 grant as running from November 2008 to December 2009 and claims 28 new protected areas covering about 8.9 million hectares; KfW's evaluation dates the support to 2008–2010. Funbio's page shows the programme as "In Progress" and names a 2012 US Treasury award and a 2017 GEF selection as recognition.

  1. 2002ARPA created (September, at Rio+10 in Johannesburg, per ((o))eco); Funbio states support has run since 2002
  2. 2003Phase I begins (2003–2009): 23 million hectares of protected areas created
  3. 2008IKI-funded contribution to phase I starts (EUR 3.63 million; 28 protected areas; ends 2009 or 2010 depending on source)
  4. 2010Phase II begins (2010–2017): consolidation of 95 areas covering 52.2 million hectares
  5. 2012ARPA for Life launched at Rio+20
  6. 2014Transition Fund begins; WWF announces a "$215 million" commitment (22 May); Positive News reports on it (18 July)
  7. 2017Funbio reports 60.8 million hectares across 117 areas, above the 60 million hectare target; KfW evaluation report issued
  8. 2023Soares-Filho et al. publish an impact study of ARPA (6 February)
  9. 2025November: reported additional US$120 million over 15 years for 60 sustainable-use units

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“first-of-its-kind bridge fund to ensure ARPA's inspiring success story can be told forever”

Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US · 22 May 2014 · WWF Canada

“We borrowed a page from Wall Street – you build together the capital to fund the whole thing.”

Carter Roberts, WWF, as quoted by Positive News · 18 July 2014 · Positive News

“If we hadn't had ARPA, I have no doubt that Chandless wouldn't exist.”

“It's a program that has survived even the worst governments”

Marina Silva, Brazil's Minister of the Environment, as quoted by ((o))eco · November 2025 · ((o))eco

“The designation of protected areas significantly reduces the rate of deforestation in the areas which have been protected.”

“ARPA support accounts for additional deforestation reductions of 9 % in SP CUs and 39 % in SU CUs in relation to non-supported CUs.”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Whether ARPA support reduces deforestation
Researchers
Soares-Filho et al. (2023)

ARPA support accounts for additional deforestation reductions of 9% in strictly protected units and 39% in sustainable-use units; leakage was not assessed.

Biological Conservation (Elsevier)
International bodies
KfW evaluation (2017)

Designation of protected areas significantly reduces deforestation within the protected areas; effective protection is at risk from budget restrictions.

KfW Development Bank, Evaluation
Communities and civil society
Funbio

A park manager says Chandless State Park would not exist without ARPA; the claim is a testimonial on the programme's own page.

Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
How large the programme and its funding term are
Communities and civil society
Funbio

60.8 million hectares across 117 areas in 2017 and a statistics panel of 62.5 million hectares and 120 areas; the Transition Fund ensures 100% public funding within 25 years.

Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
Communities and civil society
WWF (2014)

"$215 million" guaranteeing funds over two decades in one paragraph and the next 25 years in another; 95 areas covering 52 million hectares.

WWF Canada
Press and investigations
Positive News (2014)

"$215m" (£125m) over the next 25 years, over 90 parks covering 51 million hectares, full funding responsibility returning to Brazil by 2040.

Positive News

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • ARPA described as "an innovative, revolutionary, efficient and transparent program" by a park manager, and a 2012 US Treasury award as "especially noteworthy and of major impact".
  • The Transition Fund described as a bridge fund that guarantees protection of 60 million hectares for two decades or 25 years.
    WWF · WWF Canada
  • The Transition Fund financing described as "project finance", in which all details were agreed and all funds were committed at the same time.
    Positive News, reporting the funders' approach · Positive News

Recorded

  • KfW's 2017 ex-post evaluation of the IKI contribution gave an overall rating of 2 and recorded EUR 3,630,072 disbursed for 28 protected areas, against a total phase I investment of USD 113 million.
  • The 2023 Biological Conservation study estimated ARPA support reduced deforestation by 9% (strictly protected) and 39% (sustainable use) against non-supported units in 2008–2020; leakage was not assessed.
  • Funbio's page records 60.8 million hectares across 117 areas for 2017 and 62.5 million hectares across 120 areas in its statistics panel.
  • KfW's evaluation recorded that Brazilian protected areas were at risk from budget restrictions on federal agencies and that deforestation had risen again in recent years.

In nature's name

What was promised in nature's name, the money that moved, and what was measured.

Promised

  • “ensuring 100% public funding of its PAs within a period of 25 years” — Funbio, describing the Transition Fund Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
  • “first-of-its-kind bridge fund to ensure ARPA's inspiring success story can be told forever” — Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US (22 May 2014) WWF Canada

Money moved in nature's name

WhatKindAmountPeriod
Transition Fund commitment announced by WWF and partners
Brazilian government, WWF and partners
WWF Canada
Pledged$215m2014 onward
Total investment in phase I of ARPA
Brazilian government, GEF, WWF, German cooperation and others
KfW Development Bank, Evaluation
Spent$113mphase I (2003–2009)
IKI contribution to phase I
German International Climate Initiative (IKI)
KfW Development Bank, Evaluation
Paid out€3.63m2008–2010
Executed by ARPA until the end of 2020
ARPA programme
Biological Conservation (Elsevier)
Spent409m BRLto end of 2020
Additional ARPA funding reported
German government, World Bank, Moore Foundation, AngloAmerican, WWF
((o))eco
Pledged$120m2025–2040

What was measured

Benefit measured

A peer-reviewed impact study (2023) and KfW's evaluation found a deforestation benefit in supported units. The study's lead and corresponding authors are at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, but three of seven authors are affiliated with WWF-Brazil or Funbio and Funbio helped fund the work, so it is not fully independent of the programme; the authors declare no competing interests and did not assess leakage. The programme's own area and unit counts are not independent measurements.

Additional deforestation reduction, strictly protected units
9%
2008–2020 against non-supported units Biological Conservation (Elsevier)
Additional deforestation reduction, sustainable-use units
39%
2008–2020 against non-supported units Biological Conservation (Elsevier)
Deforestation reduced in ARPA units
264 ± 25 thousand ha
Equivalent to 104 ± 10 million tonnes of CO2 Biological Conservation (Elsevier)
Cost of reduction reported by the study
around BRL 4 per tonne of CO2
Study's own calculation from BRL 409 million executed to end of 2020 Biological Conservation (Elsevier)
The study states that BRL 409 million executed to the end of 2020 equates to a cost of around BRL 4 per ton of CO2. Biological Conservation (Elsevier)

Operation Ongoing · Funbio lists the programme as in progress; an additional commitment was reported in November 2025. Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)

Findings on record

  • Official audit KfW Development Bank, ex-post evaluation (IKI) (2017) · Ex post evaluation - Brazil: ARPA (project number 209810094): “The designation of protected areas significantly reduces the rate of deforestation in the areas which have been protected.” KfW Development Bank, Evaluation
  • Peer-reviewed study Soares-Filho et al., Biological Conservation 279 (2023) 109928 (2023-02-06) · Contribution of the Amazon protected areas program to forest conservation: “ARPA support accounts for additional deforestation reductions of 9 % in SP CUs and 39 % in SU CUs in relation to non-supported CUs.” Biological Conservation (Elsevier)

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: 2008–2025. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • Funbio (undated): Describes itself as ARPA's financial manager and executor since the start and lists the programme as "In Progress"; states that the Transition Fund is designed to ensure 100% public funding of the supported areas within 25 years. · Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund)
  • WWF (22 May 2014; November 2025): Announced the 2014 Transition Fund as a "first-of-its-kind bridge fund"; WWF-Brasil's executive director said in 2025 that the protected regions "will provide essential resources to communities". · WWF Canada
  • Government of Brazil (November 2025): The Minister of the Environment said in November 2025: "It's a program that has survived even the worst governments". · ((o))eco
  • KfW (2017): Rated the IKI contribution 2 overall and wrote that the designation of protected areas significantly reduces deforestation in the protected areas. · KfW Development Bank, Evaluation

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Deforestation reduction with ARPA support, strictly protected units, 2008–2020
9% additional
Soares-Filho et al. (2023), against non-supported units
Deforestation reduction with ARPA support, sustainable-use units, 2008–2020
39% additional
Soares-Filho et al. (2023), against non-supported units
Deforestation reduced in ARPA units, 2008–2020
264 ± 25 thousand ha
Equivalent to 104 ± 10 million tonnes of CO2 (Soares-Filho et al., 2023)
Area supported by ARPA
60.8 million ha (2017); 62.5 million ha (statistics panel)
Funbio ARPA page; the page does not reconcile the two figures

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
  • Disputed Whether ARPA support reduces deforestation

Accounts

  • Disputed How large the programme and its funding term are

Record

  • None on record None on record: a donor-by-donor breakdown of the Transition Fund commitment of "$215 million"; the sources name funders without amounts.
  • None on record None on record: the currency of the "$215 million" figure; neither source names it.
  • Disputed Disputed: the term of the Transition Fund commitment. WWF gives both "two decades" and 25 years, Funbio gives 25 years and a target date of 2039, and Positive News gives 25 years and 2040.
  • Disputed Disputed: the area covered when the Transition Fund was announced; the sources give 51 million, 52 million and 52.2 million hectares.
  • Unclear Unclear: the ARPA area and unit counts. Funbio's narrative gives 60.8 million hectares and 117 areas for 2017; its statistics panel gives 62.5 million and 120; the 2023 study gives 62.5 million and 120 units.
  • None on record None on record: findings of the ARPA Phase 2 evaluation by Funbio and WWF-Brazil; the Amazon Fund's evaluations page lists it without findings.
  • Not measured Not measured: leakage of deforestation outside the supported units; the 2023 study states that leakage was not part of its assessment.
  • Insufficient Insufficient: independence of the impact study. Its funding is from Funbio, the Climate and Land Use Alliance and CNPq, and three of its seven authors are affiliated with WWF-Brazil or Funbio; the authors declare no competing interests.

Did the harm stop?

KfW's 2017 evaluation recorded that deforestation had risen again in recent years and that protected-area protection was at risk from budget restrictions; the 2023 study states that protected areas in the Amazon are threatened if deforestation continues unabated.

Who paid?

The Brazilian government, WWF and partners are described as committing "$215 million" to the Transition Fund in 2014; funders named include KfW, the Global Environment Facility through the World Bank, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Amazon Fund/BNDES, the Inter-American Development Bank and Brazilian state governments. In 2025 the German government, the World Bank, the Moore Foundation, AngloAmerican and WWF were named as donors of an additional US$120 million.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

Government and regulators

  1. Support for Protected Areas in Amazonia (ARPA)
    International Climate Initiative (IKI) · undated
  2. Amazon Fund: Independent evaluations
    Amazon Fund (BNDES) · undated

Communities and civil society

  1. ARPA PROGRAM
    Funbio (Brazilian Biodiversity Fund) · undated

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

Law and courts

Land titling
Formal legal recognition of ownership of land.
Trustees (natural resource)
Government agencies that act on behalf of the public to recover and spend damages for harm to natural resources.

Bonds and banking

Arranger
The bank that structures and sells a bond or loan deal, usually for a fee.

Insurance

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The price paid for an insurance policy.